Looking for White Clematis in PG 3 - Any suggestions?

bill14150(6)July 5, 2013

I have an old wooden swing set that I have turned into a large Clematis arbor in 2012. I have 10 Clems all different varieties and colors, all in pruning group 3, planted on one end of it and want to add another white one. (I already have one white one, Huldine) I already have one John Huxtable planted elsewhere and am trying to find a different variety to add to the swingset arbor. I have looked for other group 3 whites and the only one I came upon was C. alba luxurian. Does anyone know how large the flower is on luxurian? I don't want a tiny flowering variety like paniculata or a nodding bell type. I would be very greatful if anyone knows of another PG3 type with a 3" or larger flower.

Are you aware of the Clematis on the Web website? It's an amazing resource when you're looking for this kind of information. You can search for white clematis that's pruning group 3 and then look up the answers they give you to see photos of most of them. A lot of them aren't ones I've seen for sale, but I've always found what I was looking for if I started with the name of a clematis in commerce now. Good luck and have fun.

I can't think of any that fit all your requirements, but there are several that almost do, having white along with another color: 'Venosa Violacea' has purple veining, 'Fond Memories' has a purple picotee edge, and 'Best Wishes' has purple speckles down the center of each tepal. All have a significant amount of white in them and so might give you the effect you want.

C. alba luxurians has gorgeous nodding-bell flowers, edged in green. It's one of my favorites, but may not meet your requirements. What about the old stand-by, Henryi? Or, to name others I have (or had): C. lanuginosa candida, Marie Boisselot, Hyde Hall, Mrs. George Jackman.

Thank you garystpaul. What is the diameter of the C. alba luxurians flower when in bloom? That actually does meet my requirements as far as pruning group goes (looking for group 3) but I'd like to know the size of the flower. The others you mentioned are beautiful, but they are all pruning group 2. I have a Henryi in another location and love it. I don't want to mix a pruning group 2 clem with the bunch of pruning group 3 clems I'm attempting to establish on one side of a pergola. Thanks! Bill

Clematis on the Web gives C. alba luxurians as being 3". Below I've linked the search engine. If you type in a name, just using one word in the name works best. I found C. alba luxurians using just alba.

I also used it to look for clematis with your requirements, and found that there really aren't many other than what's been mentioned here.

Thank you so very much nhbabs and garystpaul! alba luxurians it is!! It fits all my bills having the 3" flower. And thanks nhbabs for the 'one word search' advice on 'clematis on the web' site. I searched there, but used lots of words and luxurians didn't come up. One other that did was viticella 'Peveril Pristine'. It too is 3", is by Barry Fretwell, but does not seem to be available in the US, at least not this year. Thank you again. I've added alba luxurians to my 'to get soon' list! :-)

I just found one more clem in my garden that pretty much fits your requirements, Forever Friends. The blossom size range is 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches, so it might be a tad small, depending on your conditions, but it's white and type 3. I found it at Brushwood last year.